Dreams, a Continuation of Reality
by DamionOWA
Summary: A long-format fan fiction starting from Ep. 16 of the series. The supporting characters will be fleshed out more. Expect the same dark drama seen in the series. Formerly "Variations Upon a Theme", but changed becuase that title was taken.
1. Ep 17 A Familiar Ceiling

Variations Upon A Theme Ep. 17: A Familiar Ceiling/"You must learn to sacrifice the needs of the one for the needs of the many." Written by one-winged_angel As the title suggests, this takes place directly after ep. 16. ------------------------------------------------ Opening – Takahashi Youko - Kokoro no Genshi ni Modore ------------------------------------------------ Shinji looked around one last time at his hospital room. "It's strange…" he spoke to no-one but himself, "This place is no longer unfamiliar." He removed his hospital robes, laying them on the tray so the next poor sufferer could use them again. _This place feels more foreign but still more familiar to me at the same time, _he thought. _When I am not here, other people use these facilities. Yet this place feels more and more like home every time I am here. Can the others who use this room tell who I am? Can they deduce who was in here last? _

"It smells like Ikari."

_The entry plug… I spend more time there than I do at home… home. I think of it as home now. This city is not unfamiliar. Maybe that's why… I came back.___

Shinji put on the rest of his clothes, and walked out the door, pausing as he reached to change the sign on the door from "Occupied" to "Vacant". _I wonder… will I come back again?___

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Episode 17: A Familiar Ceiling 

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Deep beneath the surface of Tokyo-3, in Central Dogma, looking out on the Central Command Center, Gendou's hands were folded in front of his face, whatever features visible on his foreboding countenance, an imperceptible mask, as always.

"Unit Three is arriving soon," said Fuyutsuki, sitting at an extra chair, pulled up to Gendou's desk. "I assume we are going to choose the Fourth before it gets here?"

"It has already been done," Gendou stated. "The Child whose core could be prepared first was chosen. His name is Suzuhara Touji."

"Isn't he in the same class as Shinji? I don't know how Shinji will react to his best friend becoming an EVA pilot."

Gendou said nothing; his face and posture unreadable. 

"How are the other operations going?" Fuyutsuki asked, immediately changing the subject.

"EVA Unit Four is still being prepared in Nevada. We expect it's readiness in at least a month. We are currently scouting candidates for the position of Fifth." Gendou responded, in his unshakable baritone.

"What about Units Five and Six? I thought they were a few months off completion as well," asked Fuyutsuki.

"Their production has been aborted. We have not received a clear report from Germany yet on why, but SEELE is suspected. However, whatever they did make is being shipped here for spare parts," responded Gendou.

"…We need more Evas, not less. Why would they be aborting a near-finished project?" Fuyutsuki pondered aloud.

"They believe they have a better project." Gendou interjected.

"What do you mean by that, Ikari?" asked the elder man.

No answer came from Gendou. A ring issued from a phone on his desk. Gendou picked it up and moved it to his ear. 

"Yes. I understand. It shall be dealt with."

He placed the phone back on its receiver.

"Fuyutsuki, the Fourth Child has arrived for his first tests. Please go and deal with him. I have more pressing business to deal with."

_Is it really that, Ikari? Or are you afraid you'll alienate him?___

Gendou walked past the professor. Fuyutsuki turned and followed him.

------------------------------------------------

Shinji stared up at the ceiling, and switched his SDAT forward a track. He thought of what had happened more than a week ago, and yet seemed so fresh in his memory as to have occurred that morning.

_"You mustn't run away, Shinji."___

_…instead, I ran back. From my current perspective, it seems better that when I ran away. Because everyone welcomed me with open arms. It turned out that not running away didn't hurt at all. People seemed genuinely happy I came back. ___

He thought of Misato crying into his shoulder just as he returned to consciousness. _She… actually cares about me. I… can't remember a time in my life before when anything like that ever happened. I wonder… what does she think of me? A son, a brother? _He stuck out his thumb.

His mind skipped over the two other pilot's visit to his hospital room

_Asuka… she puts up a brash wall, but she actually does care for people. _He smiled at the thought of how embarrassed she was when she got caught listening in on the door. _Ayanami… so familiar. She reminds me of someone… I can't quite picture in my mind who.___

Then an image flashed into his mind… One he had not remembered before, and that he retained only the still image of. He remembered seeing it just before he returned to unconsciousness, as he was being extracted from the entry plug. It was Gendou alone but watching, with tears rolling out from underneath his glasses and the tips of his mouth turned upwards in the slightest form of a smile. He would have looked no different that his normal impartial composure from a distance, but what Shinji could see made the difference for him.

_"Everything is in my heart. That's good enough for me."___

He started to cry, silently, and with a smile on his face. _He… loves me! He loves me!___

_My father loves me! He cares whether or not I live or die! After 10 years… he still loves me! _He fell asleep with the salty liquid still running down his cheeks and with a blissful smile on his face.

------------------------------------------------

Fuyutsuki was sitting at a desk beside Ritsuko, occasionally scanning a stack of papers he had in front of him. However, he was more interested in the boy that sat opposite from him—Suzuhara Touji, the Fourth Child chosen to pilot an EVA in accordance with the Marduk report.

"What do you believe your academic performance is, Mr. Suzuhara?" asked Ritsuko.

"I'm not sure… It's not hard to get at least 80% in all of the courses," the Fourth responded, somewhat casually. 

"How well would you say you interact with others?" asked Ritsuko, with all the warmth of a scientist collecting her lab observations.

Again, Touji seemed very non-committal, no effort really put behind the words. 

"I don't know how you'd term that, ma'am, but I have friends. I'm good friends with a boy named Aida Kensuke, and Ikari Shinji—you should know him, he pilots for you. I get along pretty well with-" He thought for a second, of clobbering Shinji before he really even knew his name.

"Is there something, Mr. Suzuhara?" asked Ritsuko, noting the sudden trailing off of his sentence.

"No… No, ma'am. I get along well with everyone."

"You mentioned the Third Child. What do you think of his job?"

"Piloting EVA? It looked rough, from that time I was in the cockpit."

"Mr. Suzuhara, you have been selected by the Marduk institute as the Fourth Child. You will become the dedicated pilot of Evangelion Unit Three. What do you think of that?"

That's a little abrupt. You might have wanted to get closer to that idea before you dropped the news, thought Fuyutsuki in remark. 

Touji sat straight up in his seat. "You've gotta be joking. I've been picked to pilot EVA?" He slumped back down. "Hmm… poor Kensuke."

"What about him, Mr. Suzuhara?"

"Well, he was acting so enthusiastic about it… He wanted it so bad he would have given an arm and a leg to pilot that thing. But the only one who actually wants to pilot it is passed over for his best friend." 

Touji sat back up in his chair. 

"Why was he passed over? Why me instead of him, or maybe Keigo?"

"Mr. Suzuhara, you are the best possible candidate. That is why the Marduk Institute chose _you_."

"I have other things I have to take care of. My dad works all the time, so if I became a pilot, no-one could look after my sister in the hospital."

"That can be taken care of."

Touji straightened up again. "What?"

"Conditional on your acceptance of the pilot assignment, we can move her to the special NERV hospital. The best doctors money can buy, and for free." Ritsuko said it convincingly, applying pressure, feeling Touji's reluctance slip away.

_That's an unfair carrot to dangle over his nose, _thought Fuyutsuki.

"So your saying that if I become a pilot… and only if I become a pilot, my sister will receive the best medical treatment in the world for free?" Touji asked, his voice shaking.

"Yes. Everything will be taken care of."

Touji bowed his head, and was silent for three minutes.

"I'll do it."

Ritsuko smiled. 

"Excellent. Now, come here so I can teach you the pilot interface system."

Touji stayed sitting. _What have I gotten myself into now? Will this eventually hurt me? It doesn't matter. It'll help my sister. That matters more. _He stood up and headed to the door.

Before he got there, Fuyutsuki stood up, and held out his hand. "My name is Fuyutsuki Kouzou, NERV's Vice-Commander."

Touji shook it. "Nice to meet you, sir." He didn't seem all that concentrated on the words, or even the person on the other end of the hand.

Fuyutsuki smiled. "Welcome to NERV." 

------------------------------------------------

NEON GENESIS EVANGELION 

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**VARIATIONS ******

**UPON A THEME******

EP: 17 

**"You must learn to sacrifice the needs of the few for the needs of the many."******

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The silence that normally permeated the school during the first 10 minutes of lunch time was broken by a loud female voice in a classroom with only two people.

"That JERK! How come _he_ gets to take school off for a week? He even said he was fine! GRRR!" Asuka took another rip out of her sandwich.

Rei didn't respond, looking at her bare desk.

"GRR! You don't even have a lunch, the least you could do is strike up some decent conversation! Jeez, the rest of the girls went to the store to buy _their_ lunches, leaving me to talk to you! I'd get farther with a brick wall!" 

She took another bite from her sandwich, and immediately grimaced. 

"Because he wants to lie in bet so much recently, _Misato made my lunch today! I can't believe how miserable he's making my life just by not doing anything!"_

"Would you rather he be dead?" Rei breathed, almost so soft to make in inaudible.

Asuka, hearing this, spun around in surprise, a slice of ham covered in curry hanging out of her mouth. She quickly gobbled it up, and said, "What kind of question is that? Of course I don't wish he was dead!"

"You don't seem to be glad about it."

Asuka's eyes opened wide and her jaw dropped. _…Is this… how others see me? She composed herself quickly, and narrowed her eyes. "What are you, stupid? Of course I'm glad!"_

"Then why are you so negative?"

For the first time in her life, Asuka was speechless.

Hikari and two other girls walked into the room. Seeing Asuka turned towards Rei, she asked, "Are we interrupting something?"

Asuka whipped around. "No, nothing at all, just trying to get any kind of response out of the Nowhere Queen."

Rei sighed and returned to looking out of the window.

------------------------------------------------

Shinji's eyes opened, staring straight up at the ceiling.

What should I do now? No-one's home, my SDAT is nearly out of batteries and I really don't feel sleepy any more. Maybe I should make some food… but I'm not really hungry. …I know what I really want to do.

He roused from his bed, and put on his school uniform. He slipped his SDAT into his pocket, and checked to make sure his NERV I.D. card was in his wallet. He grabbed a pen and some paper and scribbled a note. 

Gone to NERV.

Shin.

He walked out of the door, and descended to the street. As always, it was fairly barren of people. Tokyo-3… For a replacement for the capital, it's pretty devoid of life. 

He walked to the train station and got onto a monorail heading into the city's core. After a 30 minutes wait in solitude, he entered the train, as there was no-one at the station. 

The train was completely empty, and Shinji soon saw why. Looking out the train window, he could still see the remains of the Sea of Dirac in the Tokai district. The danger is over, but the public still doesn't want to risk anything bad happening. That's why the city is so deserted today.

After the train stopped, he left the station and walked for another empty block, stopping when he reached his destination… the gateway to the Geo-Front. 

He walked up to the heavy steel doors. Removing his I.D. card from his wallet, he swiped it in the card reader.

He rode down the escalator to NERV H.Q. silently, not thinking much. Almost at the bottom, the SDAT's batteries died.

Well, here goes.

He walked up to the guard at the bottom of the escalator.

"Excuse me, but do you know where the commander's office is?"

------------------------------------------------

**To Be Continued…**

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**Ending: Johann Sebastien Bach - ** **Suiten fur Violoncello solo Nr.1 G-dur, BWV.1007 1.Vorspier******

Original Story: GAiNAX

Character Design: Yoshiyuki Sadamoto

Reviewer: Alexei Seranov

Story: Damion, One-Winged Angel

The title "Variations upon a Theme" I heard somewhere, and thought was good. The eyecatch title "You must learn to sacrifice the needs of the few for the needs of the many." is based on a Star Trek quote, but I thought it applied here.

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**NEXT EPISODE**

Shinji confronts his father, but with more goodwill than in the past. Gendou feels mixed emotions about acknowledging his son, as he has more important things to worry about, when terrorists invade NERV! Being cut off from their best strategists, NERV has to use whatever they can find, in the next episode,  
More and Less than an Angel!


	2. Ep 18 More and Less than an Angel

This is the 2nd draft of Ep. 18. I released a raw 1st draft because there was no other way to do so. I recommend you re-read it, as new information has been added, and some of Gendou's thoughts have been changed. Also, this 2nd draft will be the first episode to be titled "Dreams, a Continuation of Reality" rather than the old title "Variations Upon a Theme". The change was made because the title "Variations Upon a Theme" is currently in use as the title of a Rei/Shinji romance fanfic. -----------------------------  
  
Opening - Kokoro no Genshi ni Modore  
  
-----------------------------  
  
CENTRAL DOGMA - 999TH PASSAGE  
  
Shinji walked through the hallway, footsteps echoing against the floor, and reverberating against the walls. He made his way through the bare hallway, devoid of doors except one at the very end. It had a label, painted in hard black letters.  
  
NERV 4th BRANCH COMMANDER'S OFFICE IKARI GENDOU  
  
Well, here we go. Now or never, Shinji thought. And plus. I know he won't reject me this time.  
  
On the short expanse of wall beside the door, there was a panel. The panel had a small LCD screen, a keycard slot, a speaker, and three buttons, one button marked "CHIME", and another marked "TALK" on one row, and another marked "OPEN" on the bottom one. Shaking, Shinji reached the chime and pressed it, leaning to the speaker, anxiously awaiting an answer.  
  
None came. He reached again, his right arm shaking in small circles in the air. He hit the chime, and again, no answer came. He reached to the OPEN button, and nervously depressed it. The LCD screen displayed the word "LOCK" in hard red letters. Shinji sighed, the tension released.  
  
Came all this way for nothing. I wonder what's going on with him?  
  
He turned down the hallway, too wrapped up in his own thoughts to hear the sharp clicking sounds echoing from the far end of the hallway. ------------------------------- The most powerful man in Tokyo-3 walked down the hallway with short, measured steps, in his own thoughts but still looking forward through his shaded glasses.  
  
I always questioned the wisdom of having my office at the end of this long winding hallway. It's entirely possible that I could be jumped and killed here. But that's Intelligence's job, to make sure that doesn't happen, thought Gendou.  
  
And they are doing their jobs well. All in this building is going well. The Fourth has agreed to pilot, and the First and Second as well as their EVAs are in fine working order. And Shinji's rescue was a success, although it's a mystery why it happened.  
  
Shinji. He is the only variable. Whatever he saw in that Dirac Sea, he is still a necessary component. He is also a weakness. Coming here as soon as I learned of his predicament was entirely unprofessional. That weakness could work against the tide of my project, and Shinji himself.  
  
But. I feel glad that he did not die. No. I can't devote any of my thoughts to it any more. I must continue with the project. I must dedicate myself to it. I can't spend time with him. It will only hurt him in the long run. Besides, it is inappropriate for any of the officers to see me cry.  
  
He was buried so deep in his own thoughts that he did not hear the dull tapping coming ever closer to him. He opened his eyes wide when he saw a person enter his field of vision, and stopped abruptly.  
  
"What are you doing here?" he asked. ----------------------------------  
  
Episode 18 - More and Less than an Angel  
  
---------------------------------- Shinji gulped, drowning away all his nervous impulses in one shallow gulp. "I want to talk to you about something."  
  
Gendou looked at him through his sunglasses, inspecting his face. "What is it? Make it brief. I have work to do."  
  
A small nervousness began to invade the back of Shinji's mind again. See? He has no time for you. He can spare no time for his own son. Just walk past him. You don't want to put yourself through this. He gulped again, pushing all his thoughts down his gullet with the image of tears rolling underneath a pair of shaded glasses. "I. I don't think you hate me."  
  
What? thought Gendou. "Of course not. I do not hate you. Is that all?"  
  
Shinji stared at his father, the scene he clearly envisioned in his mind on the monorail slipping out of his head. "No. I think. you still love me. That you still want me."  
  
.Perhaps this is what he saw. Perhaps this is what he saw inside Leliel. Gendou looked down at Shinji. "Meaning what?"  
  
Confidence building, Shinji locked eyes with Gendou, at just the right angle to see through his glasses, the impenetrable wall he surrounded himself with. "Just after I was being removed from the plug, after Misato and Asuka left. I saw something. Something that stuck in my memory."  
  
Through his glasses, Shinji could see Gendou's eyes look uncertain for a second, and then the eyebrows crease a bit. So this is how he hides himself. Shinji thought. "Get on with it." Gendou barked.  
  
Knowing he had him, Shinji continued. "I saw. tears rolling out from under a pair of shaded glasses. They rolled down a cheek, and dropped onto a pressed uniform."  
  
He. saw? Gendou thought. He was taken aback.  
  
"Throughout all of your walls you set up. you really love me, don't you?" Shinji asked. "You still care about me, even though you left me on your brother's doorstep 11 years ago. What's more, you're proud of me, aren't you?"  
  
.Of course. He must have thought I hated him. Perhaps keeping him at a distance hurt him as well. If only he knew why. Maybe he would even help me. He's. gotten through. I really am proud of him. A tear glistened in his eye. "Yes."  
  
Shinji saw through the shading of the glasses, saw the small glistening drop. ".Can I stay here?" he said, and opened his arms.  
  
After all this time. after all the pain I caused him. he still can bring himself to love me, Gendou thought. But should I do this? What about the project. What about him? I'm unworthy of such love, and I'll only end up hurting him. Yui? What should I do? He stood there.  
  
He won't do it. a small voice said in the back of Shinji's head. But seeing the look of uncertainty on Gendou's face made him persist, and wait longer.  
  
Underneath the glove on Gendou's right hand, a presence pulsed.  
  
For Shinji's sake, Gendou heard in his mind, in Yui's voice. Not knowing where it came from, Gendou took that as an answer, and stepped into Shinji's embrace. In the first time Shinji had ever heard anything other than a baritone come out of his mouth, Gendou spoke, voice cracking. "I really do."  
  
Feeling his father's tears on his shoulder, Shinji smiled and looked into Gendou's face. "I know."  
  
Gendou smiled, feeling the salt of his own tears running through the corner of his mouth.  
  
Shinji broke the hug and looked at Gendou. "Didn't you say you had work to do?"  
  
"Yes. This talk was. very necessary." Gendou wiped his face, straightened up, and walked forward. He stopped, and said "Goodbye."  
  
Fuyutsuki walked towards them. Seeing Ikari's back turned, and the smile on Shinji's face, he didn't say anything.  
  
The two men left, and Shinji heard a beep of the card reader, and the hydraulic hiss that marked the doors opening. As soon as they closed, he collapsed against the wall, spent. Salty tears of joy sped down his face. He stayed that way for 10 minutes, and then left for home. I did it. and again. running back proves better than running away.  
  
Again, he went to sleep with a smile on his face. ---------------------------------- Half an hour later, Asuka barged through the door. "I'm home! Misato?" She looked in Shinji's room. "Stupid sleeping idiot. I wish I got to sleep for a week." She cooked herself one of Misato's curry-flavored instant ramen packs and ate it. I've been having way too much curry lately. She walked into the living room and watched a few movies, but couldn't really keep her mind on them. She headed back into her room, collapsed on her bed, and stared at the ceiling.  
  
"Then why are you so negative?"  
  
Stupid doll. What right does she have to be talking about emotions. but is she right? Do people think I don't care if I complain? Do people think I really hate them? She shook her head. Who cares what people think? I don't need them anyway.  
  
She curled up in her bed and went to sleep, a nagging at the back of her mind lasting all the way. ----------------------------------- Gendou walked in the door of his Spartan apartment. It wasn't anything you could tell apart from a one-bed hotel room; the plain blue blankets were smooth on the bed, and apart from a computer sitting in the corner and the dresser against one wall, there wasn't any thing else in the room.  
  
.This is what I rid myself of him for. but I had to, and I still have to. I still have to stay at a distance, to avoid hurting him, and to complete the project. Unless I succeed. I can never be loved again.  
  
Gendou changed into white shirts and light pants, and slipped into bed, silently. ----------------------------------- Misato walked in the door of her house, staggering a bit. "Hello? Shinji? Asuka?" She got no response from the sleeping 14-year olds. "Okay, Kaji, you can come in now." -----------------------------------  
  
NEON GENESIS  
  
EVANGELION --------------------------------- DREAMS, A CONTINUATION OF REALITY  
  
EPISODE:18  
  
History favors the bold. --------------------------------- Asuka rolled over in bed, trying to keep the shining rays of the morning sun from entering her eyes, and failed. Yawning, she stood up and scratched an annoying itch just barely in reach of her left arm on her right side. Plodding out of the door without changing her clothes from last night, she smells the aroma of eggs wafting through the house. .Misato's cooking? Maybe I'll just have a granola bar.  
  
She walked into the kitchen, and saw Shinji in an apron, with three plates of fried eggs and bacon steaming into the air. A plate of grilled fish was already sitting in front of the fridge near the living room.  
  
"Feeling better, are we?" growled Asuka.  
  
Shinji smiled, surprising Asuka. "Yes, much better, actually. I made a better lunch for you today. thought you might be getting sick of curry." He pointed to a plastic bag with the "A" hiragana on it sitting next to one with the "Shi" hiragana on it.  
  
Asuka gasped. "How did you- Ach, no matter. So, is the Invincible Shinji planning on joining the rest of us mere mortals in school today?"  
  
The sincere smile stayed on Shinji's face. "Yes, I plan on it. Would you like some coffee? It looks like you need some." He handed a full cup to Asuka.  
  
"Of course I do!" she snarled, grabbing the cup and her plate of eggs from him and plopping herself down at the table. What's with him today? It makes me so mad! It's worse than when he ignores me!  
  
Shinji left the room for a second, and put the eggs on a table inside Misato's door after knocking. He returned and began to dig into his own plate. With out any more words, they got fully dressed and headed out the door before Misato even emerged from her room.  
  
The walk to school was oddly silent, and Shinji noticed Asuka looking perturbed. When they got to school, he sat through the girls' roll call, this being one of the odd days Ayanami showed up. As the male roll call started, he noticed that Kensuke was absent. When it got to him, he called his name when he was asked. He went back to answering the homework left on his terminal from the last week, and tuned out the teacher.  
  
"Mr. Sakurazuka? Mr. Shimizu? Mr. Suzuhara isn't here today. Mr. Tachibana? Mr. Tsurumaki?" ---------------------------------- Touji sat in the test plug, decked out in a black plug suit.  
  
A small window appeared with Ritsuko appearing on it. "For the purposes of this test, Touji, we're going to connect you to Unit One, as it's proved the most cross-compatible so far."  
  
"Okay." Said Touji. S'not like I'd know the difference anyway.  
  
"Filling the plug with L.C.L." Ritsuko said. The sticky orange liquid flowed into the plug, all the way to the top.  
  
Touji grabbed a breath of the last air in the plug before the L.C.L. went over his head. He appeared like a fish out of water. "Don't worry. When laced with a harmless electric charge, the L.C.L. can provide oxygen directly. But you need to fill your lungs with it."  
  
Touji loosed his last breath, filling his lungs with the liquid. His eyes watered, the salty liquid mixing with the orange sticky one he was immersed in. Ugh! Now I get to sample this wonderful liquid first hand. I should feel proud. He thought to himself sarcastically.  
  
"Filling completed. Commence first stage connections. Confirmed. Commence second stage connections. Confirmed. Connect the A10 nerve. Confirmed. Commence third stage connections. Confirmed. Harmonics level: Normal. Synchronization: 29.5%."  
  
29.5? That's not bad, thought Ritsuko. "Prepare to generate A.T. Field in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1-"  
  
An explosion issued from above Central Dogma. Lights and consoles flickered briefly, and sirens broke out throughout the entire building. "We're losing connection to Unit One!" a technical operator said.  
  
"Give it up! Cut synchronization! Get the pilot out of the plug!" called out Ritsuko.  
  
"27th squad, deploy to the Central Command Center via Route 027." called out the loudspeaker.  
  
Inside the test plug, colorful flashes of light signaled the disconnection. "Draining the plug of L.C.L. Retrieving the pilot." The test plug chair slid up the tube and into the docking room.  
  
"Drain the pilot's lungs!" Ritsuko said. The sputtering and hacking Touji was handed a probe, and told to stick it down his throat, like he was breathing it in. He did so. "Commencing retrieval charge, NOW!" called Ritsuko. A flash of light sped down the probe, into Touji's lungs. "Touji, pull out the probe quickly!" He did as he was told, and not a moment too soon, as 1 and a half litres of L.C.L. forced their way out of his lungs. The orange liquid ran on the floor, and made it sticky to the touch.  
  
"Touji, get changed, and take Route 026 out of here!" called Ritsuko He was tossed a NERV uniform. "Never mind your clothes, they'll be retrieved!" she said. Touji ran to the changing room, and threw on the uniform. As he ran out the door, he reached into his locker, empty except his clothes, and grabbed a small radiophone walkie-talkie. Kensuke had souped it up so they could communicate over long distances.  
  
Touji turned and ran out of the room with a group of uniformed people. Okay. Where'd she tell me to go.? Route twenty something. Five? Six? Seven? Yeah! Seven! He followed them to the Route 027 elevator and stepped in. The atmosphere inside the elevator was electric, and silent apart from the click issuing from the meter above the door.  
  
The doors opened, and half the squad loaded an equipment elevator to the upper deck. Confused and lost, Touji followed them. As he ran onto the upper deck of the command center, he recognized Ritsuko.  
  
"You? What are you doing here? I told you to take Route 026, not 027!" she said.  
  
Oh no. I knew I was in the wrong place. Touji thought. "Sorry! I got confused in the midst of all the hurry!"  
  
"No matter! Just don't get in our way!" she yelled back.  
  
A small personnel platform rose to the deck, discharging the commanders and Kaji. The commanders went to the commander's box, while Kaji stood by Touji. Misato ran in through a connecting tunnel at the same time.  
  
"Status report!" yelled Gendou.  
  
"We have no idea what's going on!" replied Makoto. "An explosion was registered at one of the Tokyo-3 Geo-Front entrances! All external sensors and internal sensors up to the 187th passage have been shut down!"  
  
"All of them?" Ritsuko asked. "No-one knows the entire grid to shut them down that easily beneath assistant department heads of the concerned areas!"  
  
"Except for someone who watched them be set up," muttered Fuyutsuki.  
  
"Indeed," Gendou concurred.  
  
"An incoming transmission has been detected on the radio frequency. It's directed towards someone here, in the Command Center! Upper Deck! Tapping into it and playing it over the loudspeaker!" Shigeru reported. "There's no sound being relayed!"  
  
A beeping noise went off in Touji's pocket. All eyes stared at him as he drew his small radiophone walkie-talkie from his pocket, and raised it to his ears. "Suzuhara here. Kensuke, I'm a little bit busy right now."  
  
The answer was broadcast throughout the Center. "Touji! You gotta call Shinji or Misato or one of our dad's or someone! I just saw a bunch of people in black blow apart one of the NERV gates! They paused for five seconds and hacked into the terminal first! They left about two minutes ago!"  
  
"Two minutes? Then they're here!" Fuyutsuki exclaimed.  
  
Misato grabbed the radiophone from Touji. "Kensuke, what did they have with them?"  
  
"Miss Misato? How did you get on this private line? Well, I suppose it's not that important. They were all carrying large B-22 model heavy machine guns and some other weapons too, it looked like!" he responded.  
  
Makoto craned his neck towards Misato. "Sensors back online! Penetration of HQ 1st level confirmed! Transmission traced to just outside the 707 area entrance!"  
  
"Bring him in. He may be of use to us. Dispatch units near the intrusion." Gendou said.  
  
"Send a topside officer to get him and bring him through the Emergency Personnel Transport Elevator! Take him here!" Misato ordered.  
  
"Confirmed. He has been found. He is being transported through the 7th EPTE. Dispatched units have encountered enemy," reported Makoto.  
  
"As soon as the EPTE is within accepted depth, go to Defense Stations, Level One!" Misato barked.  
  
Maya looked at her panel and widened her eyes. "Every Geo-Front entrance topside has been breached! These terrorists are very numerous!"  
  
Gendou frowned. "Whoever it is, must have a lot of resources."  
  
Maya turned to face the commander. "Sir, due to the extensive knowledge of the NERV systems and structure locations, I submit that the party responsible was also behind the incident involving the 9th Angel, sir."  
  
Gendou slightly nodded. "Agreed."  
  
"Enemy has penetrated to within the 2nd level. EPTE retrieval confirmed! He's being brought here!" reported Makoto.  
  
The loudspeaker announced, "Defense Stations, Level One. All Personnel, Defense Stations, Level One."  
  
"Commencing procedures! Non-Combatant personnel through the fifth level, retreat! Releasing Bakelite from the enemy's current position to corridor 389! Cutting power to first through fourth levels!" Makoto stated.  
  
"There's a problem! None of the squad commanders have arrived yet! They're all housed in the First Level! Bakelite confirmed to have stopped 30% of invasion! We still have a large intrusion, and we're not at full sensor operation yet! The five main divisions are leaderless!"  
  
Two guards escorted in Kensuke. Misato turned to him. "Kensuke, what are their numbers?"  
  
"Well, I can't tell for sure, but I saw at least 30 vans and heavy trucks around the entrance. I thought you guys were having maintenance or something do a major overhaul!"  
  
Fuyutsuki turned to the upper decksmen. "We need five of you to command groups."  
  
Shigeru and Makoto stood up. "We are prepared to go, ma'am!" Makoto said.  
  
"Very good. Anyone else?" he asked.  
  
"I am ready to do my duty as well." Kaji said.  
  
"Accepted. Anyone else?" he asked.  
  
"I will go." Gendou said from beside Fuyutsuki.  
  
"But I was going to go. There's no need to risk yourself, Ikari," the old man said.  
  
"I will go. You must stay here in my stead, Professor." Gendou proclaimed. At the touch of a button, the commander's box sank to the upper deck's level.  
  
"But who will command the fifth division?" Fuyutsuki asked.  
  
Gendou frowned for a second. "Mr. Suzuhara, you will do it."  
  
Touji straightened up. "M-Me?" he asked.  
  
"Correct." Gendou responded.  
  
"I can't do this alone! Can I have Kensuke as a co-commander? He probably knows more about strategy than most of your high-level commanders!" he asked. Kensuke's face brightened supremely.  
  
"Very well. Supply Mr. Aida with a uniform." Gendou said. "Give all commanders temporary rank of Captain if it exceeds their own."  
  
"Do you think they'll be able to pull it off? They're many years younger than some of the men they're commanding," asked Fuyutsuki.  
  
Kaji leaned over, and said in a low voice, "Of course. One of them is the Fourth Child. Our troops are so dedicated to duty that they would die for them in a non-combat situation."  
  
"I suppose you're right." Fuyutsuki said.  
  
Kensuke finished pulling the uniform over his clothes, and had a Captain's pin and a gun thrust at him. "The Fifth Division is waiting for you and Capt. Suzuhara, sir."  
  
With a huge grin, Kensuke said. "Thank you, sir!"  
  
The lieutenant who handed it to him said, "You're welcome, sir, but you're the man of authority here. You don't have to call me sir."  
  
Gendou checked his gun was loaded and said, "All captains, dispatch now!"  
  
Kaji, Shigeru, Makoto, Kensuke, Touji, and Gendou all left the floor. Fuyutsuki walked out of the commander's box, moving to the operation's command location. Maya shoved over into Shigeru's Communications terminal, leaving her usual Science station to Ritsuko. Misato took the Combat Operations terminal.  
  
Maya turned to Ritsuko. "Ma'am, do you really think they can succeed?" she asked.  
  
"Of course," Ritsuko interjected. "We have no other hope."  
  
"If we are defeated, will we have to self-destruct?" Maya asked.  
  
"Yes." Fuyutsuki responded. "We have too many secrets here, and elements that can threaten the human race if they are mixed. In event of defeat, detonate the entire Geo-Front, not just Headquarters."  
  
"But wouldn't that destroy the city?" Misato asked.  
  
"A small price." Ritsuko interjected.  
  
Misato frowned. What secrets? What's so important to them?  
  
"And what about the EVAs?" Maya asked.  
  
"Evacuate the Cage and tell all personnel not to enter it by way of secure lines. Insert Dummy Plugs, and set them to attack any hostiles in the Cage." Fuyutsuki ordered. "Make sure they stop as soon as the targets disappear."  
  
"But we can't use the Dummies yet, they're nowhere near ready!" Ritsuko protested.  
  
"Can they follow those orders?" the Vice-Commander asked.  
  
Ritsuko looked away. "Yes," she said reluctantly.  
  
"Then insert them. Release enough restraints so they can move when activated." Fuyutsuki ordered.  
  
Ritsuko turned to her board. "Yes, sir."  
  
Misato perked up. "They have penetrated all the way to the fourth layer!"  
  
"Cut power through to Level Six. As soon as the troops have arrived, close all armoured shutters outside Central Dogma through to Level One. They must be stopped from infiltrating Central Dogma!" Fuyutsuki replied. --------------------------------------- As the six captains were being shuttled to their units, each was harboring thoughts about the battle in their mind, as the orders from Central Dogma filtered in through lightweight headsets they were wearing.  
  
They must be stopped from infiltrating Central Dogma, thought Shigeru, as he loaded a B-32 heavy machine gun. They're all depending on me! I have to do this. Or else there'll be nothing to defend with when the next Angel comes.  
  
Well, here's my chance to show that those kids aren't the only ones who risk their lives around here, thought Makoto. If we can deter creatures like Angels, terrorists should be no problem. I know the troops I'm getting assigned well. This should be no problem.  
  
This might be my last "go with the team" before my other job is found out, remarked Kaji. Must leave a good impression, it could be told of in my funeral.  
  
I question my own logic in doing this, but I know it must be done. Gendou thought. If they aren't stopped, there will be no way to complete the Project.  
  
I'll just do what I'm asked, thought Touji. I could think of no one better than Kensuke to help me here. I've got nothing to worry about, as the hospital isn't in Geo-Front.  
  
I don't believe this! I've never even seen the Geo-Front and now I'm a temporary Captain! This is so-o COOL! Kensuke gushed.  
  
Maya's voice filtered through the headsets. "Attention, you will be arriving in 10 seconds with your units. Spread out to confront the enemy. You will make contact in 120 seconds. Once you arrive, your combat situation will be expressed to you. From all of us here, good luck." ---------------------------------------  
  
To Be Continued.  
  
------------------------------------- Ending: J.S. Bach - Jesu, Bleiblet Meine Freuden  
  
Mechanical Designs: Yamashita Ikuto  
  
GAAAH. this was too long, and finished around 1:00 in the morning. I found this one harder to write than the last one, but better, in my opinion.  
  
I released the first draft at a summer camp where it was difficult to even access the A drive. I shouldn't have, and never will again. I like the series' new title a little better than the old one, and am happy there will be no more confusion.  
  
In addition, this will be the first episode that the ending has changed to Jesu, Bleiblet Meine Freuden. (the piano song that plays during the real- life images in Ep. 26' of the End of Evangelion movie) As the title has changed, I thought this theme befitted it more. Also, I don't think Vorspier was that good as an ending theme. Next episode is probably going to be very long, as I want to resolve the terrorist situation next epiosde. Hope you enjoy it! ---------------------------------------- NEXT EPISODE: The terrorist situation is resolved; leaving the entire staff of NERV exhausted. Shinji keeps up his newfound good spirits, and tries to use them in to bolster Asuka in the next episode, Easier Said Than Done! 


End file.
